According to testimony by Dr. Grace Augustine, Tom was supposedly a brilliant scientist with PhD honours. He was killed by a thief who attempted to steal his wallet, three years into his training in the summer of 2148.

He is witnessed being covered with plastic inside a cardboard box before a hasty cremation in Municipal Crematorium. Tom's brother, Jake, was chosen to replace him in the Avatar Program by the RDA, as Jake had identical DNA to Tom and was therefore able to drive his avatar.